Causes for Canonization Congregation of Holy Cross

Transcription

1 Causes for Canonization Congregation of Holy Cross General Chapter July July 2016 Chapitre général juillet juillet 2016 Congregation of Holy Cross Congrégation de Sainte-Croix Rome

2 Blessed Basile-Antoine Marie Moreau There is nothing new to report on the Cause of our Founder, Blessed Basile-Antoine Marie Moreau. After the announcement of the approval of the miracle and prior to the actual beatification ceremony in Le Mans, a second miracle was reported in the North- East of India. It concerned a religious of Holy Cross who is a member of the North-East Province. According to witnesses, his organs and systems were shutting down. Upon beginning prayers for healing through the intercession of Blessed Basile, there was an immediate turnaround and his condition improved immediately. The hospital was very rudimentary. The doctor, very skilled and working with a minimum of medical equipment at his disposal, wrote up the case and submitted documentation on the illness and subsequent return to full health. The material was submitted to a medical committee of two physicians for review appointed by the Congregation for the Causes of Saints. One of the physicians denied outright that it was a possible miracle because of a lack of the documentation for the tests that were done. He also questioned why a series of tests that would be done in other areas were not done. The second physician was unsure. It was submitted to a third physician. Upon examination of the documentation and for the same reasons as the first doctor, the committee would not certify that it merited further study. They were concerned that the paper results of the tests that were done were not kept (not a custom in the North East hospitals because the facilities are sparse) and that other tests were not done, essentially because the hospital did not have the ability to do these tests. The illness was serious although in more developed areas with appropriate medications, equipment and facilities, it would not be considered serious and the immediate turnaround after prayers to our Founder were begun was not enough to merit further consideration. This was a great disappointment for the Congregation. It is important to remember that it does not mean that there was no miracle; it was just that we were not able to prove it and provide the written proof to that first commission s satisfaction. The result should be that there should be a more conscious and greater devotion to our Founder and a greater reliance on his intercession for favors. To that end, the General Administration has reprinted prayer cards with third class relics that are available in English, French, Italian, Spanish and Portuguese. More medals, similar to those struck for the beatification are being made. Servant of God Patrick Peyton On April 21, 2015 Fr. Willy Raymond, C.S.C., Fr. David S. Marcham, Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, and Dr. Andrea Ambrosi, presented the positio of Father Peyton to the Cardinal Prefect Angelo Amato, S.D.B. at the Congregation for the Causes of Saints. In May of 2015 Holy Cross Family Ministries was pleased to receive a letter from Cardinal Amato stating that it is anticipated that the positio will be examined by the Theological Consultors in the first months of Typically this body generates questions that are posed to the Postulator who responds with the assistance of his staff and the Vice- Postulator. Once this group has been satisfied, then the positio is examined by the 2

3 Episcopal Consultors and pending both groups approval, they would then submit Father Peyton s name to the Holy Father for the decree of the title: Venerable. As HCFM awaits this review, it has launched a new version of the Father Peyton website (fatherpeyton.org) and has turned its focus to the Father Peyton Guild. The guild serves to inform and engage people around the world in praying for the Cause of Father Peyton and participating in the ministry continued in his name. HCFM is currently developing new strategies to increase membership as well as support current chapter-leaders Servant of God, Archbishop Theotonius Ganguly The inquiry in the Archdiocese of Dhaka was opened in September 2006, and the Nihil Obstat was issued shortly before that. The inquiry is moving along very slowly. There is still great devotion to the Servant of God in Bangladesh, and Masses are still celebrated on the anniversary of his death that draw many faithful. However, members of the tribunal have stated in the past that they are unable to interview many witnesses since some of them have passed away. This shows the importance of moving forward quickly to interview the others who may have known him. Current priests in the Archdiocese could also testify about his continuing reputation of holiness. However, it is still always preferable to have some witnesses who knew the Servant of God well. In regard to moving forward, the Tribunal would need to finish interviewing all of the witnesses and the Historical Commission would need to collect all of the documentation regarding him. Since he spent his entire life in the same area, that should not be very difficult. Much of it would be in the archives of the Archdiocese and at Holy Cross institutions, in addition to his home parish. It would also be necessary to consult the various archives of the Vatican. According to Dr. Andrea Ambrosi, the Postulator, in a news article regarding the cause, there was a mention of a possible miracle attributed to Archbishop Ganguly. If the inquiry into his life and virtues continues to move forward, he would be interested in investigating that as well. However, it is a question of personnel and finances. The Archdiocese does not have the wherewithal to pursue this cause. Servant of God Bishop Vincent McCauley The inquiry in Fort Portal began in 2006, although it is also moving very slowly. The Bishop has not responded to requests for information on their progress, so there is very little information on where they are in the process. Dr. Ambrosi has suggested transferring the competence to another diocese, although there might be some issues in doing that, since the Bishop of Fort Portal diocese might not agree to it. There was also a suggestion in the past to have several rogatorial inquiries, which would mean that the Cause would still be the competence of the Fort Portal Diocese, and the witnesses from that area would be interviewed there, but other dioceses where he had lived (for instance, Des Moines, Fort Wayne-South Bend, Dhaka, etc.) could form a tribunal to interview the witnesses in those areas (using the same questionnaire). Obviously that 3

4 would have the advantage of requiring much less travel by the tribunal. This is often done when a Servant of God had lived in a number of countries throughout his life. Again, the basic issue is one of personnel and finances. Who is going to provide both? The Diocese of Fort Portal is unable to provide them and has consistently asked for close to $100,000 to do this. The diocese also would like Bishop McCauley s body to be exhumed and returned to Fort Portal. A shrine would be added to the cathedral where the tomb would be located. They would expect the Congregation to build this. The Congregation has not acceded to either request. Servant of God Brother Flavian Laplante, CSC The Cause of Brother Flavian Laplante is in a similar situation as the causes of Archbishop Ganguly and Bishop McCauley. There is a very active group of Holy Cross religious in the Montreal area brothers, priests, sisters and diocesan clergy who meet on a regular basis and have developed printed materials and audio visual presentations. The cause in under the care of the Diocese of Chittagong which does not have the financial or human resources to prepare all the documentation as well as perform the rogatorial inquiries. The Bishop of Chittagong is interested in possibly transferring the cause to another diocese. An approach was made to the Diocese of St-Hyacinthe in Quebec, which is the home diocese of Brother Flavian. The bishop of that diocese will reach the age of 75 soon and does not want to obligate his successor in pursuing it. Secondly, there is also the question of human and financial resources. The Bishop of St- Hyacinthe has said that he would expect the Congregation of Holy Cross to pay for both. This would be a costly project as it would be for the causes of Archbishop Ganguly and Bishop McCauley which would include research, travel and many interviews and transcribing those interviews. Eventually, it would all have to be translated into Italian and the positio would have to be written. The cause is stalled on the diocesan level at the moment. Father James Dujarié and Father William Evans, CSC Originally, at the request of the Sisters of Providence of Ruillé, the Congregation was going to work with them in pursuit of the canonization of Father Jacques-François Dujarié. However, about two years ago, upon investigating the process as well as the costs involved, the Sisters have decided to discontinue the cause. We agreed. The Cause of Father William Evans was originally begun by the Eastern Province of Priests and Brothers. With the impeding merger with the Indiana Province, the Eastern Province decided to discontinue the cause rather than obligate the new province to continue the cause. It has been decided not to pursue the cause. Conclusion: With the exception of the Cause of our Founder, the other causes for canonization are stalled. All are in need of significant funding and personnel and the local dioceses are unable to provide either. The research involved must be detailed and precise and 4

5 submitted in a very particular way. It must also be translated into Italian. The Chapter would need to consider ways to provide the human and financial resources to bring these causes to a point where they could be presented to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints as was done for the cause of Father Peyton. Brother Thomas A. Dziekan, CSC Vicar General Vice Postulator 01 June